Three men accused of the armed robbery of a Unity supermarket were granted $50,000 bail each on September 24th but were remanded a day later at another court over the possession of a firearm and ammunition.
On September 21st, Lushawn Crawford, known as ‘Kang’, a 23-year-old construction worker of Lot 99 Haslington South, East Coast Demerara (ECD); Renardo Persaud, a 25-year-old taxi driver of Lot 229 Track ‘A’ Coldingen, ECD; and Anton Fraser, a 20-year-old security guard of Lot 36 Nabaclis Side Line Dam, ECD were arrested by ranks on patrol shortly after it is believed that they robbed a Chinese supermarket (Ayan) at Unity, ECD.
In a statement on September 21st, the police said that at about 4.10 pm that day, two men entered the supermarket. One remained in the Axio car they arrived in, PAB 5491. One of the suspects pointed a gun at the cashier while the other emptied the cash register drawer of an undisclosed sum of money and they re-entered the car and drove away.
An alarm was raised, and the operations room for Police Division 4’C’ made contact with a patrol led by a Sergeant. The police patrol spotted the suspected getaway car in Nabaclis and gave chase and eventually intercepted it after the suspects crashed into another vehicle. No one in the other vehicle was injured.
The following items were found in the vehicle with the suspects:
● a 9mm Baretta pistol E65974Y with matching magazine and one .389 ammo.
● Nine thousand seven hundred and fifty Guyana dollars
● A haversack, Ski-mask, caps
In a statement yesterday, the police said that the trio first appeared at the Vigilance Magistrate’s Court on September 24th, 2024 before Magistrate Alan Wilson, who read the armed robbery charge to them. They all pleaded not guilty and were placed on $50,000 bail each to return on October 15, 2024.
Their second appearance was made at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court on September 25th where they were charged with possession of a firearm without licence and possession of ammunition without a licence.
The three accused pleaded not guilty to both charges and were refused bail. They were remanded to prison by Magistrate Orinthia Schmidt.
